Edouard Martinet

Is reincarnation for real?

I offer undeniable proof…

I recently discovered a French sculptor whose work I find so lyrical and full of recycled life as almost to be reincarnated into the world of living creatures. So impressed am I by these exquisitely assembled parts of discarded bicycles, typewriters, kitchen paraphernalia etc into astonishingly anatomically correct representations of sea life, birds, amphibians, insects that I feel compelled to share this treasure and its creator…

Edouard Martinet was born in Le Mans, France in 1963. He received a Bachelor of Fine Art from L’Ecole Superieure des Arts Graphique in 1988. After working for two years as a graphic designer he became a professional sculptor. He currently works and lives in Rennes where he also teaches art.

There is a sense of humor and wit about Eouard Martinet’s mechanical creatures as he transforms others cast off junk into beautifully finished objects whose appearance hint at their former lives of practical functionality. He mentions that friends and family contact him when about to dispose of old and antique odds and ends. These old pieces are taken to his workshop and given new life. “ I love seeing objects which have their own past and their own practical uses take on a second life in my creations.” ..he says

Reincarnating old parts is no walk in the park though. Martinet says that a design can take a month to complete to as long as 17 years as he often needs specific pieces before it can take on its new existence as a work of art. When assembling his creations nothing is soldered or welded, all the parts are screwed together.

The following are images of some of Edouard Martinet's fish, birds, insects that he has brought into being.

By Meagan Meredith

 

 

   

 

 

 

Edouard Martinet at work in his studio. The Spider, made from bike brakes and tubes, balances on a web of plumbing chains.